4 Atlanta Falcons that let the team down against the Saints

4. Dean Pees

It is hard to imagine after watching the first three quarters of the Atlanta Falcons defense that Dean Pees would let the Falcons down in week one. He called a great game for three quarters calling consistent pressure and playing man coverage that allowed Atlanta to stop the run and make Jameis Winston consistently uncomfortable.

What happened to Dean Pees’ defense in the 4th quarter? Pees put his team in prevent defense letting the Saints fly down the field twice to get within two points failing to call the gutsy coverage he had early in the game that allowed Atlanta to take the lead.

Pees called the defense as if the Falcons had this game won and the team watched their lead slip away because of it. While there were players who should have stepped up in this game there is no questioning Dean Pees and Arthur Smith deserve to shoulder the majority of the blame for this collapse.

Pees for treating his defense differently when they were handed a huge lead and Smith for refusing to believe in his offense to win the game. For all Pees talk throughout camp, this was a concerning start for a team with a different head coach and coordinator is sitting at 1-0 heading into week two.